With just days left to go in the State House, Rep. Denise Garlick gave her farewell speech on the House floor Monday night surrounded by her original campaign team and her family. On Tuesday, accompanied by longtime friend and co-campaign manager Colleen Schaller, Garlick spoke with the Observer, reflecting on her service and looking ahead to what’s next.
REP. GARLICK: Part of the story of being a state representative is the layers that are involved in the job. For some representatives it’s about the district. For some it is about the internal workings of the State House and taking on leadership positions and doing public policy things. For me, I think the really unique thing is that I was able to do both. I was able to hold the district so close and be deeply involved in the community of Needham, Dover and Medfield, and also do the work within the State House and make real public policy happen.
OBSERVER: How did this all begin for you?
REP GARLICK: I think the two terms at the Board of Health were some of the most impactful. It was during that time that I had a real opportunity to see how municipal government works, where the stresses are on local government. And it was in that time that I was the co-founder and co-chair of the Needham Coalition on Suicide Prevention in a critical time period in the town with the death of four adolescents by suicide in an 18-month period. It actually became a national model for community coalition building.
But what I learned in that process too is that the resources that we needed for health and human services in the town were being decided at the Select Board. So in order to have a more positive impact, I needed to get where the resources were. We had significant discussion about resources, but I then also became the chair of the Senior Center Exploratory Committee where for 20 years we talked about how valuable our seniors were, but we allowed them to meet in the basement of the Stephen Palmer building that flooded when it rained. After 20 years with this tremendous cohort that served on that committee we ultimately built The Center at the Heights. But that was another example of learning that we needed more resources.
OBSERVER: So what made you decide to take the leap to the State House?
REP. GARLICK: At that time the state representative had decided to run for state Senate and there was an open seat. I certainly was unsure if I was ready, but I knew it was going to be the only shot for a long time. So I stepped forward with my friends and my family and people from all parts of my life living as a family in Needham. People we had known from Boy Scouts and from soccer, and people from the high school and people I knew from collecting cans at the dump for the PTC. For all of those reasons and for the work on the Board of Health and the work with the seniors in town — that whole coalition came together and I was fortunate to be elected to state representative.
OBSERVER: Looking back, what are you most proud of?
REP. GARLICK: When I first got elected I said to my trusted friend and political ally, “I’m going to deliver a report every year in each town that I represent.” And he said to me, “Don’t say that; there’s no way you’ll be able to keep that up over time, and you don’t want to start something you can’t finish.” As I finish up my seven terms in office, I have delivered 13 representative reports in each town I represent for a total of 39 reports. I think that sense of reporting back, that sense of responsibility and accountability, is something that I’m very very proud of.
OBSERVER: You’ve said being a registered nurse has been a critical aspect of your service, having started by serving six years on the Needham Board of Health. How did that translate to your role as representative?
REP. GARLICK: Within my public policy work I was integral to the passage of the first safe-staffing-in-ICUs law in the country. In three different sessions we built a public health program for the entire commonwealth. It was very fragmented across the commonwealth. We got all of the stakeholders together — people from town government, mayors of cities, leaders and experts in public health, people from the state agencies — and the legislation had them all sit on the commission together, and they produced a report that had more than 30 recommendations.
The first bill was for the commission. The second bill was based on the recommendations, and we were setting out what we wanted public health in Massachusetts to look like in every city and town and what the goals should be. And we passed that weeks before COVID hit Massachusetts. And we learned during COVID we needed to operationalize it better, we needed more resources. So I was one of the chief sponsors of the third bill that actually operationalized public health, actually put in the resources that we need, talked about the workforce in public health, talked about training, talked about education, talked about support and had the resources available to do that. The bills are called SAPHE, State Action for Public Health Excellence.
This whole story is part of my entire service in the state Legislature. But it’s not only my work, it’s the town of Needham’s work that contributed to that incredible story.
OBSERVER: Was there anything that was particularly difficult throughout your seven terms?
REP. GARLICK: When I first started someone said to me, “You know this is a roller coaster, Denise.” And I was like, “All right, I was an ICU nurse, I’ve been on a roller coaster before.” What they didn’t say is they meant in the same day. And what I wish at this point in time is that everything I know now I knew on Day 1.
OBSERVER: So what made you decide to move on now?
REP. GARLICK: Every cloud has a silver lining. And I must tell you, as difficult as COVID was, I was fortunate enough to have four grandchildren in three years. Life is precious. To be able to be the state representative in the way that I wanted to represent Needham, Dover and Medfield, to be as present in the district as possible, and as active within the State House in budget, in public policy, in process — to be able to do those things, it wouldn’t be possible to also be the grandmother that I want to be. It wouldn’t be possible to have this chapter in my life reflect what I think should be a wonderful time of family and deepening friendships and real joy. And I would never ever serve the people in Needham, Dover and Medfield in any less a way than I tried to do every day.
OBSERVER: You talk about your life in chapters. What do you see for yourself in this next chapter, and what are you most looking forward to?
REP. GARLICK: In this chapter I want to be the grandmother that I think I should be. I want to have this time with my family, and I want to explore new and different things. I have worked since I was 14 years old and I think now is a time for all those things I promised myself one day I would do, for all the books that I wanted to read. I’ve got a science background, but I don’t have a deep background in philosophy, I don’t have a deep background in English literature — those kinds of things have always called to me, but there never seemed to be enough time. I’m hoping I’m going to have time for that now.
OBSEVER: What do you think your role will be now for Needham on the town level?
REP. GARLICK: I think no matter who you are or where you live, the most important role is to be an active citizen. I think it’s the greatest responsibility that you carry. I think it is the way to truly make a difference in the world. I plan to be an active citizen. I care deeply about this community. I care about the communities of Dover and Medfield. I care about the commonwealth. I plan to be informed. I plan to be active where that’s helpful.
OBSERVER: What do you think are some of the most critical issues facing the state right now?
REP. GARLICK: I hear many, many stories from my constituents and people across the commonwealth who have insurance but can’t access services. That is an issue we have to address in a meaningful way. This is not about giving more money only, it is saying with these resources we are calling for the health care system to be responsible to the mission of health care, not the business of health care.
I think everybody knows that housing is a major deal in the commonwealth and I think everybody knows transportation is a big deal in the commonwealth. I think a great deal is being done on the issue of housing. I think we need to do more and better on the issue of transportation. But these issues are so huge that I think we can’t see just one solution, we have to see many solutions.
And education right now is strong. But what I’m most worried about is the threat that I see nationwide to public education and is the one thing that most impacts the future of the country.
OBSERVER: Josh Tarsky is going to be stepping into some big shoes. What advice have you given him?
REP. GARLICK: So Josh and I have had this conversation because people have said to him he has big shoes to fill. But I said to him, I’m a very short woman. I’ve already met with him more than once, and I’m looking forward to working with Josh in any way that is helpful to him.
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